Barely Breathing
by littleangelinlove
Summary: An alternate universe where Tristan and Rory are together and everyone is out of character... but that's just how I like my stories...


Title: Barely Breathing  
  
Rating PG-13 for later chapters with language, drug and alcohol abuse, and minor sexuality.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing... I wish I did, but sadly enough I don't. If I did own anything though, it would be Chad Michael Murray because I love him...  
  
Notes: I'm in the process of updating several of my stories... I've been gone a lot in my free time so I haven't had much time to update or even begin to write something. But, my mommy is getting mad about me being gone all the time so I'm going to be staying home more, giving me the opportunity to write stories sure to entertain you and keep your interest... At least that's what I'm hoping!  
  
On with the story:  
  
Chapter One:  
  
Rory Hayden pulled into Rachel Jones' circular driveway in the western part of Hartford.  
  
Stepping out of her pink XK8 Jaguar convertible with white racing stripes and pink street glow lights, she ran her fingers through her silky coffee brown hair and shut her door.  
  
Smoothing down her short white skirt and pulling her skimpy pink baby tee that said "Celebrity" on it, she made her way to the steps.  
  
She breathed in deeply before making her way into the party.  
  
Being away in Greece for the last month of summer vacation made Rory worry about returning.  
  
The main reason? He boyfriend. Tristan DuGrey.  
  
Breathing out, she replaced her uneasiness with her famous party smile, and swung the door open, entering the party.  
  
When Rory entered the front room, she was almost saddened by how little these people had changed. Shaking her head, she cleared it of the degrading thought. These were her friends and this was her life and she was finally home.  
  
Looking around the room, she smiled when she instantly spotted Tristan looking miserable in the living room, his eyes closed and head moving to the music.  
  
Moving to him unnoticed, she placed herself on his lap.  
  
Tristan didn't have to open his eyes to know it was Rory who had plopped down on his lap and made herself comfortable for two reasons. One, because he sensed her the minute she walked into the room... and for two? No had ever felt so good pressed against him.  
  
Running his hands on her smooth thighs and sat up to kiss the back of her neck, eyes still closed.  
  
"Hey baby." Tristan mumbled into Rory's hair.  
  
Turning around, Rory wrapped herself in Tristan's muscular arms and hugged him, letting a single tear slide down her tanned cheek.  
  
Tristan wiped the tear off her cheek with his thumb and held her tighter.  
  
"What's wrong?" Tristan asked.  
  
"I've missed you so much. I didn't think one month would be so hard. But it was. I'm just happy to be, with you." Rory told him as she tightened her hold on him.  
  
"I know Mary, I know. I've been miserable. I've missed you so much, I never want to be away from you again! Never again, baby." Tristan told her, hugging her once more.  
  
Gently pushing Rory off of his lap, he stood up and pulled her with him. "You know what? I have been waiting 30 days to be able to dance with you and baby, you are looking sexy right now and I want to feel that body against me."  
  
Grabbing Rory by her waist, he led her to the other room where the music was loudest and the most bodies were grinding.  
  
When they got in there, the lights were out and the colorful lights bounced around the room, off of the floor.  
  
She noticed her three best friends in the dance room, dancing with three of Tristan's closest friends.  
  
When "I miss you" by Blink 182 came blasting through the speakers, Rory wrapped her skinny arms around Tristan's neck and stood as close to him as possible, not leaving a gap between the two of them.  
  
Tristan wrapped his arms around her waist, ducking a little to rest his head on her shoulder.  
  
"I love you." Rory said into his ear, kissing his temple.  
  
Tristan's couldn't help the grin from forming on his face. No matter how many times they said it, it still made him grin.  
  
"I love you, too." Tristan told her, pinking her off the ground for a few seconds before placing her feet back on the ground.  
  
A couple hours later, the two were ready to crash so the two made their way to Tristan's home. When they got there, it was well past midnight so all the lights were out. Not wanting to disturb anybody, the two had to feel their way up the stairs, careful not to trip over anything.  
  
When they got to Tristan's room, Rory went straight for Tristan's closet and walked inside it, looking for a hoodie and a pair of pajama pants. After finding ones that she wanted to wear, she came out and laid his clothes on the bed. Slowly removing her top and skirt, she climbed onto Tristan's bed where he was laying watching her.  
  
Moving to lay atop of him, she rested herself on his bare chest and kissed him. They kissed for what seemed like hours.  
  
Tristan's hands roamed Rory's tiny body, memorizing every inch of it for the next time one of them left for a month.  
  
When things began to get heated, Rory giggled and rolled off of him, as Tristan pouted.  
  
"Sorry baby, not tonight." Rory said, climbing to the other end of Tristan's large bed to grab his hoodie. Sliding it over her practically naked body, she breathed in his scent and smiled before climbing back to his side and cuddling against his chest.  
  
Tristan wrapped an arm around her and kissed her head. "I love you, so much, Ror." He said into her hair, rolling on his side so he could pull her closer to him.  
  
Rory mumbled an incoherent, "I love you." And passed out.  
  
Rory woke up at 6 and smiled at Tristan's sleeping form from her eyelashes. Kissing his chest, she snuggled closer to him and closed her eyes again. If someone ever asked her what the best feeling in the world was, she would definitely say waking up in Tristan's arms.  
  
Two days later, Rory and Louise were at the Hartford Mall shopping.  
  
Walking into Hollister, Rory picked up almost every sheer tee that they had in small, while Louise picked up every humor tee that had in small. Neither girl glancing at the price tags.  
  
"How's it feel to be back after a month away?" Louise asked as she looked at a camo mini skirt.  
  
"You have no idea how much I missed it here. Athens was so beautiful, though. A month away from Tristan was Hell, too... so I'm more than happy to be back." Rory told her.  
  
Louise laughed at her friend, "Girl, you have it bad."  
  
Tristan was walking around the mall with Joel Landon, one of his best friends.  
  
"You and Rory left the party awfully early the other night, man." Joel said, raising his eyebrow questioningly.  
  
Tristan shook his head and chuckled, "Whatever dude."  
  
"I don't know why a girl as beautiful of Rory is still with you thought... I didn't even think she could get any hotter and then BAM she's back from Athens and she's on fire." Joel said appreciatively.  
  
"Dude. You want to stop drooling over my girlfriend before I kick you ass?" Tristan asked jokingly. What could he do? Rory was the hottest girl in Connecticut and in his opinion the most beautiful girl in the world. He wasn't going to actually kill someone just because they realized the same thing...  
  
Joel laughed then saw a flash of Rory's hair as they walked by Hollister. Backing up, Joel laughed. "Speaking of your girlfriend..." He said, motioning to the smaller girl standing in line, holding at least 8 different outfits.  
  
Tristan grinned when he saw her. Jogging into the store, he called her name. "Ror!"  
  
Rory turned her head towards him and a smile crossed her already beautiful features.  
  
"Tris! I would hug you or kiss you or something... but.... My hands are already full." Rory said, motioning towards the clothes already in her hands.  
  
"Then I'll just help myself..." Tristan said, ducking down and kissing her quickly, then quickly grabbing the clothes out of her hands he grinned, "I guess I can help you with these, too..."  
  
"Thanks sweetheart." Rory said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.  
  
Joel rolled his eyes and cleared his throat.  
  
Rory looked up and grinned, "Oh hey Joel! Louise is..." looking over her shoulder she searched for the blonde girl and smiled when she found her, "Over there..."  
  
Joel smiled to himself when he saw his girlfriend still going through clothes even though she was already being weighed down by enough.  
  
"Thanks for your assistance Ror... now if you don't mind, I'm going to go kiss my girlfriend and laugh as I watch her try to carry everything on her own..." Joel announced, walking past the other couple and towards the love of his life.  
  
When Joel got to her, her back was to him and she was falling over herself.  
  
"Baby... don't you have enough clothes?" He asked from behind.  
  
Louise looked over her shoulder and got so excited when she saw Joel standing behind her she through her hands in the air, completely forgetting her clothes. When she realized what she had done, she watched sadly as all of the clothes fell pitifully to the ground.  
  
As Louise pouted, Joel laughed.  
  
"That was real smooth, Grant... real smooth." Joel announced as he bent down to pick all of the hanger-clad clothes off of the floor.  
  
"Shut up and get my clothes." Louise said, trying to sound demanding.  
  
"Sure thing." Joel said, even though he already had the clothes of the floor and was now moving to stand up, "Are you done? Because that line over there is calling our name..." Joel asked, not even waiting for Louise's answer as he made his way to Rory and Tristan.  
  
After the girls had paid for everything, they handed their bags to the boys and made their way out of the store.  
  
Turning to Joel, Tristan looked bewildered.  
  
"How in the world did we end up carrying these?!" He asked, following the girls ahead of them.  
  
Monday morning, Rory opened her eyes to see her mother leaning over her with a cup of coffee in her hand, sipping on the hot, tasty goodness.  
  
"What time is it and why are you drinking coffee IN FRONT of me instead of WITH me?" Rory asked, slowly sitting up in here bed.  
  
"It's 6:30 and I'm drinking it in front of you because your cup is downstairs and I couldn't leave mine down there with your father, because we all know that when he sees a helpless, cup of coffee sitting by itself he's compelled to drink it and the very thought of giving up my coffee was appalling so I HAD to bring it with me!" Loralei cried as if it were the most obvious thing ever.  
  
Rory glared at her mother and climbed out of bed.  
  
"So you leave MY coffee down there with him? Thank you, mommy dearest." Rory said, laughter dancing in her blue eyes.  
  
"Anything for my daughter..." Loralei practically sang as she followed Rory out of her room and down the stairs and through the "maze" to the kitchen.  
  
After drinking three cups of coffee, Rory pushed herself off of the counter that she had been currently seated upon.  
  
"Mini me! Where are you going?!" Loralei cried after her daughter, while throwing Cocoa Puffs at Chris.  
  
"To get dressed... there's this thing called school?" Rory called down to her.  
  
"School? Ewww!" Chris screamed in a very childish way, laughing as he threw the cereal back at Loralei.  
  
"Chris, stoooppppp!" Loralei screeched girlishly.  
  
When Rory entered her room, she went to her closet. Since today was only a half-day, the student body didn't have to wear their uniforms. It was one of the things that Tristan, Joel, Carter, and Dylan fought for last year at one of the assemblies.  
  
The memory brought a smile to her face.  
  
Pulling out a short jean mini skirt that had a pink belt already in the loops and a white polo with a pink tank top under it, she laid them out on her bed and went into the bathroom.  
  
Brushing her teeth, washing her face, and throwing her hair into a messy bun, she emerged from the bathroom and got dressed. After she finished the long, boring process, she walked to her computer to play a quick game of Snood for Tristan would get there....  
  
Tristan rolled out of his bed at 6:50 and groaned. He hated the first day of school. The good thing? They didn't have to wear their uniforms on half- days. Thanks to him, Joel, Carter, and Dylan, the students at Chilton got out of wearing their uniforms any day they got out of school early. Thank you, thank you.  
  
Running his fingers through his messy hair, he walked over to his closet and pulled out some dark, baggy Hollister jeans, a light blue tee shirt and a white tee shirt to go under it. After getting dressed, he put on his watch and a necklace from American Eagle, a birthday present from Rory two years ago.  
  
Grabbing his wallet and his keys, and made his way down stairs and into the kitchen where he grabbed bottled water and a banana nut granola bar.  
  
Saying goodbye to his parents and kissing his mom on the cheek, he made his way out of the house and to his Camaro, speeding off to the Hayden's mansion.  
  
When Tristan pulled into Rory's driveway, he killed the engine and got out.  
  
"Knowing Rory she's playing Snood..." He said to himself as he walked up the steps to the door and just walking in. In all the years he's known Rory, which was... well a long time, he couldn't remember a time when he hadn't just walked in...  
  
"TTTRRRIIISSTTAANNN!!" He heard someone scream.  
  
"No, sorry... I'm his incredibly hot twin, Bob..." Tristan said, "How have you been Lor?" He asked Loralei as she came running down the hall with her coffee pot pajamas on.  
  
"Riightt... it's good seeing you kid! Ror is up in her room, most likely on her computer..." Loralei told him.  
  
Tristan smirked, "I figured she would be..."  
  
Turning to walk up the steps, he saw Chris coming out of the same hallway Loralei had just emerged from so he called out to him. "Hey Chris!" He shouted.  
  
"Tristan, hey kid." Chris hollered back, following Loralei into the other hallway.  
  
Tristan walked up the steps and down the long hallway to Rory's room. When he got there, he leaned against the doorframe and watched her as she concentrated on playing the computer game she had become addicted to when she was only 12.  
  
"Are you going to come in or stare at me?" Rory asked, not once tearing her gaze from the computer screen.  
  
"I actually don't mind the staring at you much..." Tristan announced as he walked into the room and up behind her.  
  
"Yeah... I've noticed." Rory joked, closing the game and turning in the computer chair to face Tristan. Holding her hand out, Tristan grabbed a hold of it and pulled her to her feet.  
  
"Hey you." He breathed heavily, leaning down to kiss her lightly on her lips. Rory smiled, and murmured a quite "Hey" to him.  
  
"We have to get to school, bible boy!" Rory said moments later, pulling away from Tristan and grabbing her purse that had been lying on her bed a few feet away.  
  
"Ruin my fun, Mary, you always ruin my fun..." Tristan said as he came up behind her and rested his hands on her hips, leading her out the door.  
  
When the couple got to school, it was only eight minutes before the final bell would ring. Since it was the first day of school, they were supposed to attend the assembly that always took place the first day of school for three hours...  
  
Walking into the school hand in hand, no one was surprised to see the two of them STILL together.  
  
The first one to comment on it, however, was Paris Gellar. Rory's number one enemy and Tristan's biggest stalker.  
  
"They're still together? It's been three years, you'd think they'd be done with each other by now." Paris growled in frustration to her friend, Corby Hill.  
  
Corby rolled her eyes. "Paris, get over it. Those two are never going to break up. They'll be the first ones out of all of us to get married and they'll have a ton of kids and they're going to get gray and old together and the sooner you realize this, the sooner you can find another girl and guy to torture." Corby said, pushing herself off of the locker she was leaning on and walking away.  
  
As she walked away, she walked past Rory and Tristan and smiled in their direction. Directing a quick hello to Rory and a hey to Tristan.  
  
In the assembly, everyone was dying. It had to be the most boring experience of all of their lives, except for all the other assemblies the Chiltonites had no choice but to attend every year.  
  
Rory and Tristan split up and sat on different sides of the auditorium. Rory sat by her friends, Louise, Madeline, Megan, Teryn, Kelsea, Parker, Fallon, and Emilie while Tristan sat by Joel, Dylan, Carter, Landon, Mark, Jake, Fred, and Alex.  
  
When Tristan took his seat beside Joel, he noticed a boy a row in front of him, whom he had never seen before.  
  
Nudging Joel, he nodded his head to the unfamiliar boy.  
  
"Who is he?" Tristan asked, curious as to why some boy he had never met was staring across the auditorium to a brown haired beauty that Tristan knew as his long-time girlfriend.  
  
"Oh... that Jess Mariano. He just moved her from New York, I think." Joel said, going back to his cell phone where he was messaging his girlfriend, Louise.  
  
In Joel's message to her, he told her told the new kid was drooling over Rory and Tristan was about to deck the fool in the back of his head.  
  
When Louise opened her phone to read the new message, she smirked. Nudging Rory in her ribs, who momentarily was playing Snake 3 on her phone.  
  
Looking up, Rory had a questioning gaze in her eye. "What?" She asked, not trying to sound rude but being angered that she just lost, when she was close to beating her high score.  
  
Louise just rolled her eyes, "Apparently there's a boy right over there who can't take his eyes off of you... and here's the shocker... it's someone who isn't Tristan..." Louise said, pointing to the brunette who tried to turn away without being noticed but failed miserably.  
  
Rory cocked her head to the left in thought, her eyebrow raising.  
  
"Who is he?" She asked, not knowing before this that there was in fact a new student attending Chilton.  
  
"Jess Mariano. He moved her when you were gone, I think he said he was from New York when I met him at Joel's party..." Louise said, nodding her head as if she was telling herself good job for remembering such minor details.  
  
Rory simply nodded and stared at him for a moment longer before redirecting her gaze from the new mysterious brunette to Tristan, wincing a little at the common butterflies she got when she saw him.  
  
Tristan watched as Rory stared at this Jess character, uneasiness settling in his stomach until Rory turned around to watch him.  
  
He turned his head to catch her gaze and smiled as he lost himself in the pools of her beautiful blue eyes.  
  
Before he could get lost much more, Headmaster Charleston made his way onto the stage and towards the podium as the student body erupted into cheers for their "principal."  
  
As he started his speed, Tristan got comfortable in his seat and just stared at Rory... the last thing he heard was,  
  
"Welcome back students, for another year at Chilton..." 


End file.
